EAST Oxford's new police inspector has issued a stark warning to people dealing drugs in the area.

Insp Brian Cooper, who has taken over from Insp Jim O'Ryan, has set drugs as one of his key priorities, along with antisocial behaviour and litter/fly-tipping.

Insp Cooper said: "My message to anybody dealing in drugs in east Oxford is they should be scared and they should be looking over their shoulders.

"My cycle team is constantly carrying out drugs warrants and making arrests to try to seize as many drugs as possible."

He said the main drugs being dealt in the area appeared to be crack cocaine and heroin, and occasionally cannabis, and said he believed there were no more than about 20 dealers in the area at any one time.

He added: "The situation with drugs is constantly changing. Once you arrest one dealer and hopefully successfully take them out of the game another one tries to come in, so it is a constant battle.

"All the officers on the cycle team are extremely motivated and they all know the city very well and are constantly getting information from the community."

It is Insp Cooper's first post as inspector, having worked previously for six months preparing a report on stop-and-search powers within the Thames Valley Police's headquarters diversity unit.

He was previously based in Newbury's road policing unit and has never worked in Oxford before and said he hoped to spend the rest of his time in the force, at least four-and-a-half years, based in East Oxford.

Insp Cooper, who has three children, is 44 this week and lives in a village near Abingdon. He said most of the antisocial behaviour in the area centred around the Cowley Road and was linked to its night-time economy.

He said he was in favour of CCTV being introduced along the busy road and said: "I perfectly understand people who are seeing it as a Big Brother issue but I have worked in other towns like Newbury and Reading where I have seen it work superbly.

"Providing the controls are in place to ensure it is used correctly they should have no fears. This would mean things like making sure the staff who operate it have very clear guidelines about what they are viewing and what they are using it for."

He said he intended to work closely with the city council's east area parliament on how to move forward with proposals.

The East Oxford police team includes four PCSOs, and two recently-employed Neighbourhood Specialist Officers, Oli Jacques and Sarah Baker. A new neighbourhood sergeant, Sgt Andrew Barefield, starts on September 3.